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Google just opened up it’s e-bookstore today. And while the required app doesn’t seem to be available in the US yet (even though it says it is), I already know what book will be my first download: Eight Days Out by my great-grandfather Merrick Abner Richardson. It’s an absolutely scintillating read (not), one of three “novels” that, so the story goes, he paid a vanity press to publish a few hundred copies way back at the turn of the 20th Century. Imagine what he coulda done with Lulu.

The cool part about this is not that his great-great grandkids (and beyond) will in some way be changed by his words. They won’t. The cool part is simply that another very small part of their personal history has been captured. It’s a thin slice of who they are, a piece of their DNA that will be preserved. And in some way, even though this isn’t a monumental work of fiction or a classic by any stretch, that makes me feel good.

It’s not lost on me that when I blog (or, in recent terms, don’t blog) or save a picture or put up a Tweet that I’m adding in some way to my own legacy, one that I can write and share in more amazing ways simply because I have the privilege of living at this moment. I don’t know if my kids or grandkids will ever take the time and effort to read or look at some of this stuff. I’m not much expecting them to. But they could. Whatever the technology they’re playing with in their adulthood, I’m guessing most of this will be pretty much a mouse click away. I’ve written about this before, but I know at some point I want to spend more time creating content specifically for them. Historical narratives, advice videos, favorite jokes. I share all that stuff with them now, in real life, but as someone who has been without a mother for almost 30 years now, I know how amazing it would be to see her and listen to her and keep learning from her, even though she may not be around. Not every day, but once in a while

When silly stuff like finding my great-grandfather’s fairly insipid prose preserved in a Google e-book happens, I’m reminded how amazing this moment is. In a world of serious struggle and argument and change, it’s nice to be reminded.

It’s pretty coincidental that, in catching up with a little web-reading I came across this today. I spent the last couple of days in spare moments writing down some memories of my dad who died in 1972 so that the little I have can be passed on, and I have had thoughts of finally getting around to recording some memories of my mom and my mother-in-law in order to preserve them. I have also been thinking about my own blog, and how even if no one at all were to read it now, it would still serve as a record of some of my thoughts that will be available to my children and their children.

I know that I would love to find out more about my own grandparents and their parents and their thoughts. I don’t know if your grandkids will read every word you’ve written, because you are pretty prolific! But I am pretty sure that they will take a look.

After reading your blog i got to thinking….maybe this is the way our future children and grandchildren will get to remember us by… I mean we get to remember them by past diaries, letters, and postcards (that was the “technology” sort of speak then) and blogs, twitters, facebook is our technology now… I am sure in the near future if not already a website will be created that can house all of our information for those who want to see/review it down the road. So with that I say keep on blogging, twittering, facebooking so our future children, grandchildren, and great great grandchildren have something to get to know us by and remember us by!

Wow! I am excited for the Google e-book store. That is really cool that your Great-Grandfather wrote that book. I’m a little behind on the whole e-reader thing, but I am trying to hop on board. I spend most of my extra money on school teaching supplies right now, but I will be excited to splurge a little on myself after the new year.

I have just begun blogging and I am still learning. Needless to say I have enjoyed every minute of it so far. I would love to have my students create blogs as a way of communication and as a learning tool. However, the district in which I work blocks a lot of these sites. Do you have any sites that would be considered safe to create blogs in the classroom and I would have an easy time persuading district personnel to allow us to do it?